Lake Titicaca Level Drops, Emergency Declaration Requested

The Association of Indigenous Conservationist Peoples (APOC) demands the Government to declare Lake Titicaca in emergency after a significant decrease of its water level.

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APOC president, Edgar Cahui Cahue, said in statements to the press that the lake has been affected by the burning of totora, a perennial aquatic herbaceous plant typical of the area and which plays a key role in water purification.

"The Titicaca National Reserve is fundamental to Puno because it is home to great biodiversity and is currently suffering accelerated degradation. It is not just pollution, but many other problems," said the organization's president.

Regarding the demand for an emergency declaration, Cahui said that it is necessary for the State to intervene once and for all and called for "immediate action."

The tweet reads, "Alarm bells are ringing! Lake Titicaca in emergency due to drought. The Association of Original Conservationist Peoples (APOC) demands that an emergency be declared in Lake Titicaca, due to the decrease in the level of its waters."

According to the state agency Andina, citing the National Meteorology and Hydrology Service of Puno, "since April to date there has been a drop of 59 centimeters in the height of its waters." This means a retreat of more than two kilometers in some of its banks.

It is predicted that by the end of this year, the lake's water level could reach a "historic" drop of up to 99 centimeters, the media outlet said on its web page.

The state agency added that the causes of this water deficit are climate change and the presence of the El Niño phenomenon, an influx of warm currents into the sea off the coasts of Peru and Ecuador, which alters the naturally cold waters.